Texas, New Hampshire join movement targeting supplement sales to minorsTexas, New Hampshire join movement targeting supplement sales to minors

A Texas Democratic lawmaker who is a physician has pre-filed a bill to restrict the sale to minors of dietary supplements for weight loss and muscle building, and it appears similar legislation will be considered as well in New Hampshire in the 2025 legislative session.  

The pre-filed bills in Texas and New Hampshire bring to 11 the number of states that have introduced legislation to restrict minors’ access to certain dietary supplements, according to Kyle Turk, director of government affairs with the Natural Products Association (NPA). The other states include California, Colorado, Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, New York, New Jersey and Rhode Island, he said. 

New York is the first state in the country to pass legislation to prohibit the sale to minors of over-the-counter diet pills and dietary supplements for weight loss or muscle building. Since that legislation was signed in October 2023 by Gov. Kathy Hochul, bills in other states have continued to gain momentum, despite vigorous opposition from the supplement industry. 

“The writing is on the wall: Lawmakers and communities across the country want to see some commonsense guardrails put in place to protect children,” S. Bryn Austin, professor at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, said in an email to SupplySide Supplement Journal. 

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She is founding director of the Strategic Training Initiative for the Prevention of Eating Disorders (STRIPED), based at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and Children’s Hospital, and an advocate for the bills. 

“Sellers are targeting children with misleading promises of magical weight loss or muscle gain on social media, in pharmacies, at the gym – practically everywhere – often without their parents or any responsible adult in their lives knowing,” Austin said. “The legislation in Texas, New Hampshire and elsewhere is sending a message to sellers: Put the brakes on targeting children.” 

Recent developments, including the pre-filed bills in Texas and New Hampshire, show critics of the industry like STRIPED are “loaded for bear,” NPA President and CEO Dan Fabricant said in an interview. “They’re not going away.” 

In Texas, Rep. Suleman Lalani pre-filed a bill (H.B. 1474) on Nov. 26 that restricts the sale to minors of supplements marketed or otherwise represented for weight loss or muscle building. The bill stipulates a civil penalty of up to $500 for each violation and its specific language is similar to other bills introduced including in New York.  

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H.B. 1474 bill also imposes restrictions on OTC weight loss drugs, and retailers selling products subject to the restrictions would be required to limit access to them, "including by placing the drug or supplement behind the retail counter or in a locked case."

The Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN) is challenging the New York law in a lawsuit, and it has appealed a federal district court’s denial of a request for a preliminary injunction. 

In New Hampshire, a pre-filed bill (HB 0516) introduced by Rep. Alicia Gregg is being tracked by NPA. The bill has no text yet but displays the title, “Prohibiting the sale of over-the-counter weight loss and muscle building supplements to minors.”  

Neither Lalani nor Gregg responded to multiple requests for comment from SupplySide Supplement Journal. 

“There is no causal connection between dietary supplements and eating disorders, and we caution against policy measures that perpetuate this misconception,” CRN declared in a statement, commenting on Lalani’s bill. “The dietary supplement industry is committed to the responsible manufacturing and marketing of products that support health and wellness. H.B. 1474's provisions, including the requirement to restrict access to certain products by placing them behind the counter or in locked cases, raise serious questions about the practical and economic impacts on retailers and manufacturers, as well as the availability of legitimate products to consumers.” 

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The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) is among the groups in favor of the state bills.  

“For years, FDA warned about the hundreds of tainted weight-loss products marketed as supplements and that consumers should use caution when considering purchasing weight-loss products,” Jensen Jose, regulatory counsel for CSPI, said in an email. The Federal Trade Commission “has brought hundreds of cases against deceptive weight-loss claims, and warned consumers to treat weight-loss products, particularly supplements, with suspicion.” 

The CSPI lawyer added, “Despite their warnings, these federal agencies are unable to curtail dangerous and deceptive weight-loss and muscle-building supplements. States are now taking action to protect our children, particularly those who are susceptible to the type of deceptive marketing described by FTC.” 

The industry is facing growing threats from state legislators at a time when many stakeholders have expressed enthusiasm over the prospect of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. leading the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). HHS oversees FDA, which is responsible for regulating dietary supplement products. 

“However, the industry cannot fall asleep at the wheel because state legislatures move worlds faster than Congress, and many lawmakers like Suleman Lalani and Alicia Gregg intend to undermine consumers by proposing legislation prohibiting and restricting access to these products,” Turk said. “NPA has a robust advocacy strategy to showcase the benefits of dietary supplements. Still, as a whole, we need to take these threats seriously, and organization is critically vital for defeating these proposals.”